When the Vienna Philharmonic last appeared at Carnegie Hall, it was announced one day before the first of its three concerts, on February 24—the first day of the Russian invasion--that Yannick Nézet-Séguin would replace the … » Read

SAN FRANCISCO—For Samuel Adams, the pandemic was both a constraint and source of transformation. Isolated like everyone else in the spring of 2020, the composer began to rethink his practice, pushing himself, as he put it in a San Francisco … » Read

Time was when only the vocal greats dared assay the title role of Bellini’s Norma at the Metropolitan Opera, from Lilli Lehmann to Montserrat Caballé, with Rosa Ponselle, Maria Callas, and Joan Sutherland, among others, falling in … » Read

LOS ANGELES, CA– In hindsight, the great Dave Brubeck was a prophet of inclusion in the concert music world. When he disbanded his classic jazz quartet in 1967 in order to devote time to writing sacred classical works, one of his goals was … » Read

CARDIFF, Wales—When Emma Jenkins provided the libretto for Welsh National Opera’s 2018 Rhondda Rips it Up! telling a story of women’s suffrage, Artistic Director David Pountney said, “We would rather throw a party than … » Read

SEATTLE—The world premiere of A Thousand Splendid Suns at Seattle Opera has attracted attention well beyond the usual music circles. With the Taliban’s recent return to power in Afghanistan, both the opera and its source, Khaled … » Read

When Lohengrin in Wagner’s opera reveals facts about himself in response to questions by his bride Elsa, questions she had pledged not to ask, he identifies his father as Parsifal, king of the guardian-knights of the Holy Grail, of which … » Read

Nine years from its founding in Cambridge, the Gesualdo Six has become so firmly established in the early-music community that its New York debut on February 18 inspired incredulity: What? The acclaimed British vocal sextet has never sung here? … » Read

OAKLAND, CA—In its aptly named “Notes from California” program on February 24, the Oakland Symphony got the evening off to an atmospherically entrancing start, rich in local color. Performing as usual at the Paramount Theater, a … » Read

SAN PEDRO, California—Here we are a couple months into 2023 and the performing arts are still sorting out the casualties of the pandemic, making up for lost time. Case in point, one of many: the delayed world premiere of Kate Soper’s … » Read